A Trip Down Memory Lane

Written By: LJ

A special ‘thank you’ goes out to the wonderful members of the Library who helped turn this into a group effort by responding so marvellously to my call for help. This was a lot of fun and greatly appreciated.

Skyy shut down his laptop and held his face up in order to benefit from the bit of air that drifted down the ceiling fan. He smiled when he heard a truck pulling into the driveway and waited impatiently for Dusty to enter the house. Getting up from the table, he threw himself into his partner’s arms and kissed him.

“Great! You’re home early,” Skyy joyfully greeted. “I was running out of things to do and beginning to get bored on my own.”

“Yeah; it was just too freaking hot in the shop. We couldn’t seem to keep the damn doors closed long enough for the cooling system to do its’ job properly,” Dusty explained as he appreciatively squeezed the two firm globes he’d grasped with both hands. “I see you’re handling the heat in your typical fashion.” He grinned at the sight of his nude lover. “And just how many times have you showered and air-dried today?”

“Heck, I’ve lost count.” Skyy laughed along with his partner; both enjoying the easy bantering. “I’ve opened every dang window and door in the house and turned on a couple of the fans in hopes of catching the odd breeze as it wafted by. Let me tell you, they are few and far between.”

“We do have air-conditioning, Skyy. Why don’t you just turn that on?”

“I’ve trying to conserve energy. This is our third heat wave in less than a month and our power grid is just about maxed out. We’ll have blackouts soon if people don’t start cutting back. The water in our pool is slowly evaporating and Den won’t even let us top it up. I’d be out in it except we’re not to swim when home alone. Plus it’s better if I have someone handy to yammer at me about re-applying sunscreen.”

“Well, I home now and a dip sounds good. I’ll join you as soon as I’ve had a cool one.” Dusty began stripping off his work clothes and tossing them in the direction of the laundry room.

“The baskets aren’t gonna come out and get that stuff, you know,” Skyy teased. He sat back down and pulled one of the items on the table a little closer. “At least the heat has one good outcome; shorter working hours.”

“True enough!” Dusty readily agreed on his way over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. “Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case for Den. Looks like his meeting went into overtime again,” he sadly commiserated. He fetched a cold beer from the fridge, putting the second can back when Skyy refused his offer to have one and tossed him a bottle of water instead. “So whatcha been doin’, Buddy?” he inquired after gulping down almost half his drink in one go.

“I’ve just this afternoon finished putting all our photos in order. Man, they were in a mess. Most of them were still in the package they come in when we pick them up at Walmart’s Photo Center. I’ve scanned them all before downloading and transferring them to an external hard-drive in separate files as needed. And I’ve got all but one picture in their proper albums. Wanna see?”

“Sure thing.” Dusty drank the last of his beer and procured another before pulling over a chair and sitting down next to his fellow Brat. He looked around when he sensed something amiss. “Hey, you haven’t started supper yet even though you’re the first one home.”

“Yeah, I did!” Skyy pointed over to the counter.

Dusty rolled his eyes in disbelief. “That’s it! You emptied a whole bag of potato chips into a bowl. Didn’t overtax yourself, did you?”

“Hey, I also restocked the refrigerator with beer and pop,” Skyy retorted with a smirk before informing Dusty of their older partner’s intentions. “Den’s bringing take-out so we don’t have to cook.”

“Good plan; although it is hot enough on the back deck to fry an egg. That would certainly eliminate turning on the stove.”

“Fast food will be nice for a change, especially since we ran out of propane for the bar-b-que last night.”

“Shit! I knew I forgot something,” Dusty grumbled. “I was going to fill the tank on my way home today. Oh well, it can wait until the morning. Now let’s see what you have here.”

“Okay, but I don’t want you looking at all of it. This project should be viewed slowly on a cold winter evening when we’re all together.”

“I can go along with that.” Dusty nodded his agreement.

“Just quickly flip through some of the pages,” Skyy instructed, handing over the first of several albums. “This one has pictures of you as a kid. I got most of them from your Mom and they cover all the years right up until you met the love of your life.”

“Then I’ve probably seen them all and don’t need to go through them now. What’s in the second one?”

“Kinda the same, only of Den from birth up to his university days.”

 “Hmm. Pretty sure I’ve seen a lot of these too, so I’ll pass for the time being.” Dusty reached for the album that caught his eye and frowned at its’ smaller size. “I bet this one is yours.” He began slowly looking through the pages, pleasantly surprised by some unfamiliar photos.

“I got some new pictures from Nonna and Mémé when they moved out of that old tenement building after the city finally decided to tear it down. I didn’t even remember seeing any the old folks with a camera. So these are a nice surprise, huh?”

“Sure are, little buddy. I’ve mostly only ever seen your elementary school photos and those few scruffy things in that old shoebox of Earl’s.” Dusty pushed thoughts of Skyy’s childhood out of his mind, not wanting to spoil the joy his young partner was having in showing him his handiwork. “Here’s one of your Mom. Man, do you ever look like her. Blond curls, violet blue eyes and all. You still remember her, don’t you, Skyy?”

“Of course, I do. I’ll never forget her.” Skyy’s eyes widened at such a bewildering question. “She’s my Mom. I’ll always love her.”

 “I’m glad, baby. She was so very special and you deserve to have her always, if only in memory.” Dusty wrapped an arm around Skyy’s shoulders and hug him while waiting for the lump in his throat to dissipate.

Skyy lovingly ran his fingers over his mother’s beautiful face softly smiling out at him from the photo. “Until that morning just after I turned seven and woke to find her gone, we were inseparable,” he quietly murmured as if in retrospect. “We did everything together and had so much fun. You know, she always walked me to school and without fail, was always waiting for me when classes let out for the day. That was the hardest part after she left; coming out of school and her not being there. But I still remember all our trips to the park where we’d have picnics and to the library where we’d choose books for her to read to me. Nothing we did cost very much money and yet the memories I have are priceless. We’d have to celebrate the holidays in secret when he was out of the house so he wouldn’t ruin it all.”

Dusty closed his eyes. He knew Skyy was referring to the man who had sired him; a man he’d never considered a father, and with just cause. Clearing his throat yet again, he gently inquired, “Exactly how would you celebrate?”

“Mostly we’d bake and sing the songs of the season. Sometimes we’d dress up in old stuff we’d get at the Sally Ann Boutique, as my mother called it. Then we could make believe we were other people living in different times and places. We’d have a grand time playing make-believe. And of course, we’d visit the folks who lived in the same public housing as us. They’d have treats for me.” Skyy grinned up at his partner. “Of course, I really like celebrating with you and Den too. I love getting together with everyone for Thanksgiving and being an elf at Christmas. Remember, it was you who first took me trick or treating. And it is only with you and Den that I’ve ever been on a vacation or traveled. Heck, I had never even seen fireworks before getting with you guys.”

“I’m glad we helped change your life for the better, Buddy.” Dusty smiled, happy in the knowledge that Skyy was probably happier now than he’d ever been since losing his mother.

Skyy returned the smile and bounced in his seat as he casually removed the album from Dusty’s hands and closed it. “This is a really interesting one,” he announced, pushing a much larger book in his partner’s direction. “But first I want you to see something in Den’s album.” He opened Den’s near the back page. “Does this guy look familiar, D?”

Dusty looked closely at the two young men in the picture and smiled. “Of course! It’s Den and Rowan. It must have been taken that summer they met at university.”

“Weren’t they lovers for a short while?”

“Yeah, but any relationship other than being good friends was doomed from the start.” Seeing the question in Skyy’s eyes, Dusty explained. “They’re both tops. I don’t mean only in disposition; I also mean they both top sexually…and exclusively.”

“That would be tricky.” Skyy grimaced and shook his head in understanding. “Sure thankful they met though. Blue and I would never have become adopted brothers if they hadn’t.”

“And we wouldn’t have reason to visit BC as often as we do,” Dusty added. “Nor would we have had that great trip to Prince Edward Island a couple of summers ago.”

“That’s true too.” Skyy put the album back with the rest and patted the one he’d given his partner a few minutes ago. “This one is just you and Den. It starts when you first got together. That last two are the three of us, but we’ll get to them later, okay?”

“It’s your show, little buddy.”

“I’m really curious about one picture in particular.” Skyy lifted the cover and handed the photo he had set aside to Dusty, carefully watching the express on the other man’s face. He smirked when he saw the blush appear.

“Where’d you find this? I thought we had lost it long ago because I haven’t seen it in years.”

“It was stuck to the back of a bigger one. It’s a picture of your bare butt, isn’t it?”

“Yep, it is!” Dusty confirmed Skyy’s suspicions.

“Looks like it just had a close encounter with Den’s hand,” Skyy observed.

“Actually it was the paddle,” Dusty honestly admitted. “It was the first time we’d used it.”

“But why take a picture?”

“It’s a visual aid!”

“Huh?”

Dusty sighed, knowing there was no way he’d get away with not sharing the events that preceded the photo op. “Do you want the whole sordid tale or will the abridged version do?”

“Yeah, right! As if you had to ask.” Skyy settled back in his chair with a wide grin of anticipation.

“Okay, but you may regret wanting to know so much.”

“I doubt it.”

“Then here goes.” Dusty paused briefly to consider where best to start his narrative. Making up his mind, he began at the very beginning of his and Dennis’ relationship. “When I first moved in with Den, I had several outstanding debts. Not all that much by some folks’ standards, but pretty overwhelming to me. Most of them had to do with my botched college courses with a student loan being the highest amount. He asked me if I wanted help taking care of it and of course, I immediately accepted his offer. All my income, every last cent was to be paid directly on my bills. Den made a fair wage; enough to support us. He owed nothing to anyone. Most his education had been covered by scholarships and the university fund his parents had set up before he was even born. Plus he worked part-time. As you can probably figure out, there were times when sticking to the budget we set up became a bit of a sore point. I’d waste money I didn’t really have and when called on it, would throw a fit. Den would patiently explain to me that it was my choice to get out from under or continue paying high interest rates. His being right, didn’t always sit well. I am sure Den would be the first to tell you I was a bit of a handful when younger. Man, it often amazed me that we managed to stay together. Had we gone our separate ways, it would have been my own fault. I’m ashamed to admit there were plenty of times when I took my frustration out on the one I loved most, often treating Den somewhat unfairly. Actually that’s an understatement, as I got darn right nasty at times.” Dusty grimaced and shook his head at the memory of some of the things he’d said and done way back then.

“Anyway, Den stuck by me through it all and by the end of that first year, I was free and clear. I no longer owed a red cent to anyone. Man, if felt good. Den encouraged me to return to college because I only had one year to complete in order to get my credentials in diesel engineering. I wanted to but was afraid of failing and quitting again. He eventually talked me into it, so once again every dollar I earned went towards my schooling while Den continued to not only support both of us on his salary, but to also save a bit so we could someday buy a house.”

“He’s good at persuading us to do what’s best, isn’t he?” Skyy interjected.

“Sometimes too much so,” Dusty smirked. “I really found it so hard at times. I’d rant and rave about how difficult it was to keep up with my studies and hold down a part-time job. So Den had me quite my job and helped me get a bursary to avoid going in debt again. It was after one particularly bad meltdown that Den brought up the subject of a discipline partnership.”

“I would’ve liked to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation,” Skyy mused, his eyes sparkling with mirth at the thought of Dusty going ballistic when the topic was first mentioned.

“Yeah, the idea wasn’t too readily accepted. I briefly wondered if I should have him committed. I mean, why the hell would I willingly let someone wallop me? But again, he somehow managed to convince me to at least give it a trial run. And truth be told, I wanted the boundaries, I just struggled with them sometimes. So you can imagine my shock when it actually worked. I guess the fact that we’re still living that lifestyle is proof of its’ success where we are concerned. About that time, we were also becoming good friends with Dominic and his partners. Slade, Jayden and I got together pretty regularly, and wherever we went it seemed that trouble followed. I think it was stalking us. I had this bad habit of getting into a fight at the drop of a hat. It took very little, if any, provocation to get my back up. Slade, good friend that he was, always showed his support by jumping into the fray. Jayden, on the other hand, would just stand off to the side and watch us behaving like a couple of fools.”

“So you and Slade would get in trouble with your Tops but Jayden wouldn’t, right? Smart man, Jay is.”

“Not really. Back then Jayden hadn’t yet learned not to interfere when Slade was about to be punished and he’d always end up getting reprimanded as well. They had both agreed to a discipline relationship but it took over five years and Dominic’s leaving for them to finally clue into their roles within that relationship.”

“Well they eventually worked it out with our help and are doing just fine now,” Skyy added his two cents worth. “But where does this photo come into play?”

“I’m getting there; just be patient. It was after a rather serious altercation that almost involved the police when Den used the paddle we’d ordered online, for the first time. We’re talking grim here, Buddy,” Dusty solemnly explained. “When it was over, he took the picture and put it on the refrigerator door. It was there as a reminder for me every time I went out with those two guys after that. Of course, we’d hide it whenever we had company.”

“Did it work?”

“Hmm, for the most part. But I think it was my ultimately coming to the realization of just how hard and painful it would be for Den to pick up the pieces if something really bad happened to me. That, along with my growing up at long last. Like Den explains, we all develop in various areas at different times in our lives and he didn’t mean physically. He meant our personalities; our intellectual capacity and unique qualities that make each of us who we are destined to be. Moving past the insecurities I harboured took forever, or so it seemed at the time. Just like some folks thought you were too young when you became our partner. Maybe in some ways you were, but in other ways you were a lot older than either of us.”

Skyy nodded his understanding. “But you don’t need to keep the picture on the fridge anymore, right? It served its’ purpose.”

“Well, it also got misplaced when we moved from our apartment to this house. Like I said, I haven’t seen it in years,” Dusty absently commented as he flipped through the pages of another album he’d picked up. He blinked and then burst out laughing. “Whoa, for a moment there it looked like we’d suddenly acquired a bunch of nieces and nephews when in actuality we only have one of each.”

“But there’s two more on the way,” Skyy happily reminded him. “What made you think we had more?”

“This picture of you and the kids you taught while doing your required on-the-job training at the Montessori Education Centre.”

“Let’s see. Oh, I remember when that was taken. It was at the Spring Pageant the school puts on every year. Man, I’m gonna miss those little ones. One more year to go and I’ll graduate with my Bachelor of Education. Sure hope I find a position as a kindergarten teacher by next fall. There aren’t a lot of openings, you know.”

“Den says with that recommendation you got from the principal at Montessori you shouldn’t have any trouble at all finding employment in the field you want. Come to think of it, things worked out rather well for all of us as far as us never having kids of our own. I don’t particularly care for the little ankle-bitters so us not having any doesn’t pose a problem for me. Den’s got us to satisfy any need to nurture that he might have and you’ll always have classroom full of the pint-sized creatures. Who could ask for more, right?” Dusty put the album back down on the table. “So, you got any other questions?”

“Yeah, this white envelope marked ‘PRIVATE’. I figured I’m just as entitled to open it as you are, being as I’m an equal partner.” Skyy took out the contents and spread several nude pictures of Dennis across the table. “Caught him while he was sleeping again, huh? He does know you still have them, right?”

“Oh yeah, and I was allowed to keep them with only one major stipulation. They appear on the Internet and I’m a dead man. As if I’d ever show them publicly,” Dusty scoffed. “Den is one good-looking dude and he gets hit on enough without me inviting more to flirt with him. He’s ours and we sure as hell are sharing him, are we?”

“Not on your life!” Skyy adamantly agreed, laughing as he raised his hand for a hi-five. “But if I remember correctly, Den also has issues with sharing us. Think back to last summer and the Pride Festival Parade. We got picures, ya know. And even you gotta admit you made one hell of a drag queen, Dusty. Even Den loved your outfit, especially the glamorous feather boa with all the colours of the rainbow. Personally, my favs were the oversized boobs and the cinched-in waistline. I may be guessing here but I’m pretty sure it was your French kissing another man that Den had a problem with.”

“Yeah, he was pissed for two reasons; as if one wasn’t bad enough.” Dusty’s butt clinched when he remembered his Top’s reaction to the impromptu display. “First, because I kissed the guy to deliberately taunt and embarrass him in front of the TV cameras. But I still say he had it coming. I’d had to work with that mean-mouthed homophobic slime-ball for almost a year and I was fed up to the teeth with his malicious innuendos. Not one of my fellow-employees liked him. Hell, they even made it a point to exclude him as often as possible when planning a night out with the gang. Gordon was bad enough at the shop, but he was even more intolerable the odd time we were out with him in public. Trouble is; I know damn well that given the chance, I’d do it again!

“Too late for this year,” Skyy acknowledged. “How about next summer?” The thought got both Brats laughing uproariously.  

Regrettably, Dusty had to shoot down Skyy’s hopes for there ever being a repeat performance. “While you probably see this as having a downside, fortunately for the rest of us, Gordon quit his job shortly after that incident. Guess he can’t take it as good as he can give it. Man, was he ever ribbed a lot by the guys in the shop. But they were never darn right nasty the way he was. God, he was revolting at times.”

“Besides not going along with your rationale for doing what you did, what was Den’s second reason for getting so angry, D?”

“Humph!” Dusty snorted. “His inherent possessiveness came into play. He told me he’d never passionately kiss anyone but the two of us, so we shouldn’t either. He said we belong exclusively to each other and that’s all there is to it.”

“I kinda like that reasoning, D. Makes me feel safe knowing I’m his and yours.”

“Me too, little buddy. It was his method of making sure his POV made a lasting impression that burned my butt.” Dusty couldn’t help seeing the humour in his complaint as he again laughed along with his fellow-Brat.

“But you’re a real handsome guy too, D. Especially in the tux you wore at Curtis’ wedding last fall. Sheesh, we got a ton of pictures from other people’s weddings. We’ve been to three since we got together and none were our own. First there was Rowan and Darby’s; then Den’s kid sister, Laura and Jacob’s; followed by Curtis and Beverly.”

“We may never be able to get married, little buddy, but we had a commitment ceremony that sure out-shone all three of those weddings. Even though same-sex marriage is legal now, bigamy still isn’t. However, I’m more than happy with how things turned out for us.”

“Me too!” Skyy didn’t want there to be any doubt in his partner’s mind. “Man, I still don’t know how Den pulled off that surprise or how he kept it a secret from us until the very last minute. Especially when so many others had known about it for days or weeks, some for months.”

“He made it extra special right from minute one,” Dusty spoke softly as memories of the special time resurfaced. It was an event he and Skyy never tired of talking about.

“You’d think we’d have clued in when he sent us to bed on Christmas Eve after making us promise not to come down in the morning before he did. His taking over an hour to come upstairs should have also raised a flag or two,” Skyy muttered.

“But who would have thought he’d be busy messing around with those long blue ribbons, interlacing them all over the place throughout the lower floor of the house. He handed each of us one the next morning as soon as we reached the bottom of the stairs. We then made our way through the maze he’d made, rolling up the ribbons as we walked from one room to another until we came to the Christmas tree.” Dusty grinned when he remember where those ribbons eventually led.

“The ribbons were woven among the branches of the tree and when we finally found the ends of them, there was a gold ring attached to each one. That was so romantic,” Skyy murmured. “A third ring was still in its’ box on the coffee table. He let us put them on right away but never mentioned when our commitment ceremony would take place.”

“Or even if it would,” Dusty commented. “Bets me why we weren’t a tad more suspicious of his making us put on suits to attend the family dinner that afternoon.”

“He said it was because the dinner was being held in a fancy restaurant where his parents had reserved a private room. You got to admit it sounded reasonable enough considering the size of the family. None of us have a home with the capacity to entertain everyone at one time,” Skyy acknowledged. “I don’t know what shocked me most once it slowly began to register exactly what might be about to take place. Okay, so there was obviously an unusually large number of people present, but it was seeing Rowan and Darby that really blew me away. They had flown in the day before and spent Christmas night at Jacob and Laura’s home.”

“It still seems like it was all a dream, but then I look at my ring and the memories come flooding back. Dang good job we’d often discussed what we’d want to say to one another if we ever had a chance to exchange vows. You and Den didn’t seem to have any trouble reciting your lines, but I still can’t believe I didn’t just freeze and draw a complete blank when it was my turn to speak. Guess it was the magic of gazing into Den’s gorgeous velvet-brown eyes and your beautiful violet-blue ones that got the words flowing.”

“The whole ceremony had a sense of magic about it, D. All our family members and closest friends were there to witness it. No one was singled out to be best man or whatever. Everyone was treated the same. I liked that,” Skyy affirmed, nodding his head.

“The music was perfect and the food absolutely delicious. You fell in love with asparagus, remember?”

“I remember it all,” Skyy assured his partner. “I put together a separate album just for that special occasion, and for our trip to Disneyland that followed.”

“Good idea,” Dusty declared. “We won’t have to go sorting through the everyday one when we only want to look at our commitment ceremony and holiday.”

“It wasn’t a honeymoon though, just a long promised vacation. After all, newlyweds don’t go on a honeymoon with a whole group of people. They usually go along as a couple. But Dominic, Slade, Jayden, Rowan and Darby came with us. Den said he and Rowan had made plans last summer when we were at their cabin in BC. I really did like Frontier Land best and the nightly fireworks were out of this world. Better than anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“Well it was sure better this time than Den’s and my first trip there. The weather temperature is so much more comfortable in December than in June. The heat just about did us in on that holiday. No one got sick this time even though we went on just about every ride in the place.”

“You mean it was hotter than it is here during this heat wave?” Skyy shook his head and softly whistled.

“Maybe a little warmer but equal on the humidity I think. That reminds me, I’m still thirsty.” Dusty got up from the table to get himself a bottle of water from the fridge. “You want another, Buddy?”

“No thanks, I’m good.”  Skyy began gathering up the albums. “I’m gonna put these back on the shelf in the living room.” He stood up and turned to face Dusty. “That is unless you still wanna look through them.”

“No, I have something else I’d rather be doing right now.” Before he had a chance to clarify what he had in mind, his cell phone attracted his attention. “It’s a text from Den. He’ll be home in half an hour, forty minutes tops.” He smiled, placed his half-filled water bottle on the table, took the albums from Skyy’s arms and set them down. Taking a seat, he pulled the younger man down to straddle his lap and began kissing him while rubbing his hands up and down his lover’s back.

Within seconds both men’s bodies were responding to the stimuli brought about by exploring hands and mouths.

“I’d rather go upstairs where we’d be more comfortable, D,” Skyy murmured against his partner’s lips as he ground his erection into Dusty’s stomach. He jumped up and made a beeline for the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Dusty was hot on Skyy’s tail. He only had to pause long enough to get rid of his boxers before landing on the bed next to his waiting lover. Their foreplay was rough; their lovemaking so very different.

“I’m ready, D,” Skyy panted. “Stop teasing me.”

“I’m not teasing, baby. You know the rules. You’re smaller than me and if I carelessly cause you any harm, Den won’t let me have intercourse with you anymore. I like to switch and I can’t with Den.” Dusty made sure to completely prepare Skyy. Then he pushed his engorged penis against Skyy’s opening and slowly entered. He stopped to watch for the signs that would let him know he could continue and when he felt Skyy relax, he withdrew part way and thrust forward again. His movements were smooth and steady, the pace and depth increasing until Skyy’s body tightened and convulsed as he reached the pinnacle he sought. Dusty’s climax followed almost immediately and he collapsed beside his lover, well-sated.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Den walking into an empty kitchen shortly after five-thirty and put the bag he was carrying on the counter. Spying the picture on the table, he picked it up and smile at the familiar red bottom. “This must have generated a fascinating discussion,” he chuckled to himself.

The pile of albums gave an excellent hint as to what his partners had been doing earlier, but didn’t help him in knowing their present whereabouts. It was the running water upstairs that clued him in and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to imagine why a shower at this particular time would be needed.

He had just finished cutting three assorted Subway foot-longs into thirds and arranging them on a platter when he heard the sound of someone sliding down the banister and then bare feet running towards him. Seconds later, his arms were filled with a naked and extremely damp man.

“Skyy, you’re getting me wet,” Dennis mildly complained, kissing his youngest partner and then pushing him back to hold him at arms’ length.

“We just shower and I haven’t had time to air-dry yet. Besides it gives you another reason for getting out of that suit. It’s too hot to be wearing one in the first place.”

Thumping on the stairs heralded Dusty imminent arrival. He’d taken the time to towel dry and put on clean boxers. He had an extra pair of underwear swinging from his fingers and tossed them over to Skyy as he came into the room. “Put them on, Buddy, if you want to eat supper with us. And here’s the hand towel you used for sliding. You left it on the bottom of the banister.” He hung it on the door know and then walked over to greet Dennis with an enthusiastic hug.

“How did your meeting go, Den?” Dusty inquired as he helped Skyy strip their Top of his business attire, leaving him in just his boxers.

“Longer than we would have liked, but it was very productive. We got a lot accomplished for the fall semester. But I am so glad to be home and spending time with my wonderful Brats; who, I take it, have been entertaining themselves in my absence.”

“Well, Skyy was naked when I got home, and naturally one thing led to another. You know how it is.” Dusty grinned at the understanding smile.

“Oh yeah, I know how it is,” Dennis replied.

“We kinda got the evening planned out, Den. We thought we’d eat in the outdoor shelter so we’d be handy the pool,” Skyy informed the older man while draping the suit neatly over the back of a chair.

“That way, we’ll be ready to jump right in as soon as our meal is done,” Dusty added to the explanation. “The sun’s not as strong now so Skyy can’t burn to a crisp. What do you say?”

“Works for me, my loves. Dusty, you get some drinks out of the fridge and Skyy, you grab the chips and dip,” he instructed, picking up the subs and heading towards the deck.

“There’s one more thing,” Skyy announced, catching up with Dennis. “Being as it Friday and none of us work tomorrow, we’d like to sleep out here too. We can put that oversized hammock to use. You know; the one that’s big enough for all three of us.”

“Big enough for a short period of time, Sport. However, I’m not too sure about spending the entire night in it.” Dennis set the platter on the redwood picnic table where Skyy had placed the bowls.

“But it will be so much cooler out here,” Dusty insisted, placing cans of beer and pop next to the food. “And I won’t mind moving to the blow-up mattress if I start to stick to you guys.”

“And think of the savings on the electric bill,” Skyy pointed out.

“And again, think how handy the pool is for cooling off if one thing should again lead to another during the night.” Dusty crossed his fingers, having every intention of seeing that it happened.

Dennis shook his head and laughed at the hopeful expressions on his lovers’ faces. “What the heck. It really is too hot to stay inside, and we do have netting to keep the mosquitoes off us,” he easily capitulated. “And who knows, Mother Nature just might be kind enough to bestow a nice breeze on us during the night.”

 Dusty glanced at Skyy, and they merrily chanted in harmony, “I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you!”

“Either way, let’s chow-down because I’m staring!” Dennis declared, reaching for a sandwich.

Pulling Skyy aside, Dusty whispered. “Maybe we’ll get more pictures of Den in the buff for that last album.”

“And more memories,” Skyy eagerly conspired.

The End